What a Week 1! Everyone is in full freakout mode. Seriously, during my yearly check-up why was the doctor so concerned with the amount of illicit materials I ingest and not the amount of heartache I suffer from fantasy football? But I would like to use this opportunity not just to say calm the fluff down, but to remind you that this week brings hope. Whether you got skunked by a Hunt owner or got beat by a ball hair, a win this week puts you back at even. Don’t go making moves that you are going to regret later on in the season because you are 0-1. Likewise, guys will suck Week 1 and be bosses in Week 2. And Kareem Hunt could put up a stat line like Leveon Bell and get knocked off the proverbial pedestal. Football is an ebb and flow. Yin and yang. Lamb and tunafish… You know, natural dichotomies and whatnot. But enough with the philosophical discussion. I’m back with an extended version of streamers for your Week 2 consideration. As always, I use Yahoo ownerships and target players that are owned in 65% of leagues or less. Let’s go Snoop-a-loop, bring your green hat!
Carson Palmer – Yes, losing David Johnson is a huge blow to this offense. And Carson has always been prone to the interception, so the 3 picks last week shouldn’t shock you. But I think the Colts may be one of the worst defenses in the NFL and if there was an eliminator pool where we picked QBs to throw 2 TDs (which we should probably start, because don’t we all need more side gambling on football in our lives), Carson would be an obvious choice. Even without DJ, Palmer should be able to improve on the 300 yards and a TD that Goff put up last week. Who knows, maybe even Jaron Brown will get a target.
Jay Cutler – Smoke ’em if you got ’em! My hesitations with Cutler actually come from more off the field stuff surrounding the Dolphins than it does with actual concerns about Cutler (which is a scary and disappointing thought). But think about how the Texans were supposed to stifle the Jags and how that turned out. Now maybe it was the impending suspension of Brian Cushing weighing the team down, but it might have been hurricane hangover. And jetting to the left coast doesn’t make things necessarily easier. With an extra week of prep and a healthy supporting cast, Cutler should be a good play.
Paul Richardson – I know the move in many fantasy leagues has been to adding the 3rd WR to a flex spot. Now with every team playing this week, you are probably starting your big guns. But I wanted to mention Richardson because I do believe that owners should take a preemptive strike stance on him. Tyler Lockett was out there against the Packers. Not doing a whole lot outside of the return game, but he was there. Richardson tied for the team lead in targets with Jimmy Graham at 7, tied with Baldwin for the team lead in receptions with 4. I was high on Richardson before Jermaine Kearse left town and I think if you are in a 12 team league with a deep bench, or anything over he should be owned. Get in on the ground floor.
Evan Engram – More like the Little Giants, amiright? Seriously, the Annexation of Puerto Rico would probably have been a step up from what the Giants actually had going offensively against the Cowboys last week. But in the midst of the absolute snoozer of a football game, Engram showed us a little something. Things like Shane Vereen getting 10 targets and Roger Lewis seeing the field are things that aren’t likely to happen in Week 2, and even with ODB coming back I think there should be some fantasy goodness in Engram as a streamer. He’s widely available, with an ownership percentage of 22%.
Buccaneers DST – Tampa was dropped in a lot of leagues due to their Week 1 situation. Even with the Bears putting up a good showing against the Falcons last week, I think Atlanta was more caught with their pants down when exposed to a Tarik Cohen that they probably didn’t gameplan heavily for. Well, Cohen may be the most talented receiver the Bears have right now with Kevin White no longer in the picture (not that White looked particularly good before he got hurt). Glennon was nothing short of mediocre and the Bucs should be chomping at the bit to come out and perform.
Bengals DST – Think the Bengals might be angry? Getting trounced by a division rival at home is never a good time. But Cincy is a better team than their game against the Ravens showed, and the D has to be looking at the 10 sacks Jacksonville registered against not so savage Tom Savage and rookie Deshaun Watson and looking for a quick way to put last Sunday behind them. Word is Watson is going to start and the ankle will hold up, but he may struggle with the short week.
Greg Zuerlein – Remember when everyone loved Greg the Leg? Was it just because of his fun name? His ability to bang 50 yarders? Goff may not look this good every week, but if the D is going to show up and put him in good spots and he can be effective with Watkins and Gurley, he’s going to have value as a forgotten name. Even though you can’t really forget that goofy moniker.
That’s it for this week. Catch me in the comments section, on Twitter @EvFWFB , or on MB’s couch watching football this Sunday!
